Metal Phoenix

[milo]

Tenacity, force, strength, stability, and determination: Chinese musk and gleaming white metal with honeysuckle, rose mallow, verbena, and carnation.

Hmm, I wasn't expecting to like this, so this one is a bit of a surprise. It is very fresh, light and airy, perfect for spring or summer. Just a touch of floral and what must be soft metal. I've never tried a metal besides Torture Queen, and I didn't like her. I'll just have to decide if I like it enough for a bottle. Decisions decisions...Gah, I think I'll be making an unplanned lab order. Well, there could be worse unplanned things! Edited January 17, 2009 by Shollin

[Reedsong]

How strange that of all of this year's phoenixes, the one I expected to dislike is actually the only one I enjoy.

 

How can something actually smell like gleaming white metal? But this does, with the honeysuckle and carnation providing gorgeous light accents. This reminds me of pale early sunshine, and the way a garden smells as shafts of gold-white light warm the morning dew. Metal Phoenix is charming, feminine, and very subtle; it hugs my skin closely and would be a good choice for settings like the office, in which an unobtrusive fragrance is preferable. I think anyone who likes BPAL's light, feminine florals (Bearded Lady, Silentium Amoris, Spectre, and Feu Follet come instantly to mind) will really love Metal Phoenix.

[Little Bird]

I wasn't expecting much from Metal Phoenix. I tend to not enjoy musk or verbena, and while I love honeysuckle in real life, it's usually too perfumey and sharp for me in perfume form.

 

In the bottle, this smells scary. It's like perfumey, sharp hairspray and a cloying sweetness that makes me think of home-made popsicles, but too sweet. It starts off the same on my skin. I think that the musk and metal meld together and are just too sharp for me. I smell like I drenched myself in cheap hairspray. In the drydown, I don't know what the sweet note is, but it's making me kind of sick. Metal Phoenix makes me feel like I'm trapped in the girl's lockerroom in high school, a room drenched in hairspray, Bath and Body Works, and cheap, sweet perfume.

 

I think that this is my least favorite Phoenix blend...

[jehrichardson]

In the bottle... bubblegum? Really??? Weird.

 

On the skin... bubblegum.

 

Ah, good. Fading a bit now... Let's see... musk with some rich floral underpinnings. Nice! Musk is so often used to go dark, go deeper, this is refreshing! It might actually be a floral I like!

 

Can't say I smell Beth's metal note... maybe that's just the crispness and sharpness coming through.

 

This isn't my favorite, OMFG scent, but it's really really nice. Clean and fresh... like awesome laundry.

 

Mmm! Likes it! Loves it!

[FallDaze]

initial thoughts -> I'm not sure what to expect from the Chinese musk here. I'm hoping I'll amp the metal and honeysuckle notes as those are my favorites that are listed. Out of the Anniversary's, this is the one I was looking forward too most.

 

imp-> I smell a metal note similar to that in Phoenix Steamworks. This is absolutely gorgeous! I can pick up a bit of the honeysuckle too! Oh I hope this works on me!

 

wet-> The metal is still there, but the florals are starting to take over. Definitely keeps that metallic tang. Not a sweet blend by any means. On the verge of going soapy, but not quite there yet.

 

after a while-> this is reminiscent of a softer Phoenix Steamworks, with a few more florals. LOVE!

[Argentwolf]

I was really leery of this one, but like all the Phoenixes, it was really nice. Believe it or not, but I really can 'smell' the 'gleaming white metal' in the description; it's like what the mirror-sheen on a stainless-steel table would smell like, if it had an odor. I think the honeysuckle is what makes it so palatable for me.

 

It's super-light, and seemed to fade really fast.

[PurringPulsar]

Metal Phoenix

 

In the imp: sweet and very pleasant white carnation! No metal so far.

Wet on skin: a little bit of metal now, but this is actually incredibly pretty.

Dry on skin: this is what I wished Kataniya and Torture Queen could have smelt like! This smells predominantly like white carnation, but with a delicate sweetness to it which is almost fluffy, and I’m tempted to say marshmallow-like. Is this rose mallow? I do get sharpness from both metal and verbena, but the metal notes in here are not as harsh or grating as I expected, and not as ‘generic men’s perfume’ either. The honeysuckle note is also behaving nicely. It actually reminds me of the Blockhead, but lighter, gentler. I’d say the metal note here was like the ones in Magi or Robotic Scarab, the more pleasant, unobtrusive metal notes that don’t turn to sporty cologne.

After a while: this still stays surprisingly lovely. It’s still heavy on that delightful carnation, which now has sweetness to it, almost like Morocco. I wasn’t expecting this to smell like a metallic Morocco, but it does, in a way. It’s the same sweet carnation and musky scent, but with the sharper edge of metal (and this metal is, again, not too bad!) I think the mallow may be adding more sweetness to it too.

The scent then winds up smelling like the most gorgeous sweet powdery white musk with a hint of floral. Of all the Phoenixes, this scent showcases the Chinese musk most…I can recognise it here, it smells just like the musk in Queen Mab (a favourite of mine).

Verdict: I wasn’t expecting to like, yet along love, this phoenix. Metal notes? No thanks. Honeysuckle? That’s a soapy culprit. But against all odds, this is wonderful on me! The carnation is surprisingly strong, and that’s a good thing. It adds warmth to this scent, a bit of sweetness too, which helps to stop the metal notes from overpowering, but even they are very agreeable in this scent. The musk is also gorgeous in here, it’s a soft sweetish white musk scent, a skin scent, a little bit powdery in a nice way, and it goes nicely with that flush of carnation and the white metal notes. This in all is a lovely pale musk and carnation scent given a fresh, zingy feel by the metal and verbena. It’s a bright, clean (but not soapy) scent that I feel is perfect for the transition between winter and spring, because of the blend of cold white notes, with the rich warm flowers. An unexpected winner in this year’s phoenix series!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? I may have to cave in and get a bottle of this!

If you like this, try: Blockhead, Kataniya, Torture Queen, Pink Moon 07, Queen Mab

[Lamia]

This is a clear hard scent. Early on, there was a brief snap of a mild citrus. Pleasant.

[crebbsgirl]

I was pleasantly surprised by this blend. I like it more than I thought I was going to. It's less sharp than I was expecting - metals and I notoriously don't get along - with something very sweet. I think the honeysuckle and the rose mallow are combining to dull the edge as it were. The carnation is adding just a hint of spiced floral in the background and I'm not getting very much verbena. The musk note here is a standout as well, and everything combines to form a fresh and light blend.

[MCS4096]

In the bottle: I don't really know what rose mallow smells like, but this is a nice, sweet (and almost citrusy.. the verbena I guess) honeysuckle. Actually smells a bit like candy.

 

Wet: Lemon fizzy candy! I'm really trying to pick out individual notes, but I cant. It doesn't really smells like metal to me (I have a lot of experience with TRUE metal smells, and no "metal" blend I've tried is really there.. it just a stylized note I guess, but very nice all the same) . I guess mostly on me this is the verbena and carnation (it's the carnation in Zarita..)

 

Dry: Hate to say it, but it's a bit like citrus toilet cleaner. I can dig it though I believe it's that metal note that's just a bit cologney. It's a lot sweeter than I thought it would be, and unfortunately it's not the honeysuckle blend I was hoping it'd be. I still like it though, and will wear it quite a bit I'm sure.

 

ETA: After wearing this a few more times.. and properly "heating" it up on my skin I definitely get a more sweet cream vibe from it. The carnation in it is still Zarita, and in fact they smell similar to me, but it's nice and light and the "metal" note makes it just interesting enough

Edited February 19, 2009 by MCS4096

[Ajila]

In the bottle – A scent that’s clearly there, but at the same time seems to smell of nothing

 

Wet on me – A soft almost milky sweet floral with an edge of ozone

 

Dry on me – A sweet, almost candylike floral with just a hint of musk

 

Overall – I like this a lot, it’s a much creamier, sweeter scent than I expected

 

[forspecial_plate]

I like this scent, and everyone else pretty much described it better than I could....or at least I'm getting the same impressions. Very light, marshmallow sweet at first, then a mixture of floral, musky, and a touch of verbena. I agree with the 'cold floral' feeling that others talk about, and also the delicate white metal, which is strange. It might lean towards feminine, but I don't care....it just smells good. Besides, one other reviewer considered it somewhat masculine, so I guess it's all subjective (or is it objective? I get those confused). Anyway, like I said, this JUST SMELLS GOOD, and I personally don't find it powdery or soapy (either of which might turn me off).

 

Chinese musk really drew me to the Phoenix scents this time around. I used to have a bottle of non-Bpal Chinese musk that I liked, but I lost it. I like it in all of these scents, although it's not so obvious in all of them. It's obviously a very light variety of musk, maybe related to white musk. If it were ever offered as a single note, I would happily buy at least a bottle and wear it on its own.

[Ginspu]

I got this one of the anniversary phoenixes because I wanted to attune to the Metal element. I've been working on a tai chi sword form, which is very yang and, well, brash, and in your face. So I was kind of hoping for a metal scent that would reflect that.

 

Turns out Metal can be yin, too, and this is a very delicate yin scent. Starts out citrusy (I guess that's the verbena) and then it gets all floral on me. For a while I didn't think it was going to work - the floral was almost soapy. But then, the metal *finally* shows up and tones down the florals.

 

I'm not sure how I feel about this one - it's nice, but I'm not sure if it's my thing. I might try it at a different time of month, too.

 

Tried it again today and it made a nice change! The floral was much tamer and them metal was way up fornt. I think this is possibly the first scent that's had such a big change on me depending on what time of month I wear it. I'll have to keep that in mind, cos today, it was lovely.

Edited April 23, 2009 by Ginspu

[angelicruin]

Sniffing it, I can pick out the Chinese musk, carnations and honeysuckle right away.

 

On my skin, I can smell the metal now and the musk and carnations.

 

I agree that even with the metal note, this is a very delicate scent. Soft, but with a little edge.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This one is a bit of an enigma! I get that cool metallic note, and the musk and honeysuckle...Being such a woodsy/spicy/herbal junkie this is quite the change of pace for me. It's lovely, however, and I could see myself wearing it if I were in the right kind of cold and hard, kicking ass and taking names kind of mood. Like, I'd wear this if I had to go to the mall and get gawked at by dumbasses or something. It just feels like the kind of blend to wear when in need of a bit of psychic armor!

[Leopard403]

So many of these notes are so stereotypically feminine, I don't understand how this ends up smelling like men's cologne on my skin. Must be a function of musk + metal. Luckily, it smells AMAZING on my boyfriend, and he's usually amenable when I want to dab a bit on the nape of his neck before sexytime. *swoon*

[rayvn1]

Light and sweet musk and honeysuckle scent. Not being very awake, I spilt half of my decant but I still had enough to test. Not a keeper, but a very pretty scent!

[hlinspjalda]

In the bottle: Metal, honeysuckle, verbena, and spicy carnation. This smells lively and heartening.

 

Wet: There's a triumvirate going of metal, honeysuckle, and verbena. Wonder how this will develop?

 

Twenty minutes: Musk, verbena, and at least one floral are all stronger than the metal now. That's good, because I bought this despite the metal, not on account of it! I still think it needs to develop some more.

 

One hour: The first thing I notice is the metal and verbena. But subsequent sniffs highlight the carnation and honeysuckle. This is a little more ethereal than I expected, but interesting.

 

Two hours: Pretty much as before. The metal note reads as almost aquatic, or as gently aquatic, I'm not sure which. This is much more gently ethereal than I expected, without being either sweet or spicy.

 

Three hours: More gentle aquatic (over a very faint musky base) than anything else. I shall have to investigate that metal note some more; it's intriguing if it can turn honeysuckle into nothing on my chemistry. I still get hints of the carnation and verbena that remind me of many Lab blends, but this hasn't turned out to be one of the few blends where the carnation really works for me.

 

Five hours: Barely there, mostly that aquatic-metal note, now quite soft. This one appears to be a fail on me despite my affinity for honeysuckle.

[Voleuse]

Huh. In an odd turn of events, this one smells like my dad. It's the musk and the lemonish verbena, I suspect--he's one for light cologne, and this is his kind of scent. (Alas, he is a bit clumsy, so he wouldn't take to BPAL's tiny bottles.) ANYWAY. As I can't disassociate the smell from my dad now, this isn't a scent for me.

 

But! As it dries, the lemonish scent disappears, and this becomes more like a musk-and-metal scent, not heavy, but definitely metallic. I can catch the tiniest hint of carnation and powder, but otherwise, the florals don't appear for me at all.

[gingiemay]

The Chinese musk in this blend is very light, almost white musk. With the metal, honeysuckle and verbena, this is a high cologne scent. I get no rose mallow or carnation. Honeysuckle can sometimes turn to cat pee, but it's not even present.

[metaldog32]

Metal Phoenix-2008

 

Of course I had to get this phoenix..it is my natural element in Chinese astrology and one I seem to identify with to a great degree.

 

I also like the smell of cold metal; so I was hopeful that perhaps that would translate into this scent.

 

Initial sniff from bottle: Sweet floral with mallow..if I close my eyes the visual I get is gleaming cool white floral. No “metal” note that I get as of now.

 

Applied wet on skin:A wisp of that metal is there..yes..and it’s nice..I think I get a bit of the carnation along with the sweet honeysuckle and mallow..the tail end is a wisp of verbena which adds a crispness but doesn’t veer into ill-fated Lemon Pledge territory..thank goodness.

 

5-10 minutes later-Musk has appeared on the forefront but it’s not overwhelming..it works nicely with the floral notes and the mallow..they are however now in the background.

 

30 min later-At points I did smell the metallic coolness interspersed with the musk and florals but Darn…it’s almost all gone on me! If I huff obsessively at my wrist I think I still smell the musk but is has basically sunken into my skin.

 

Staying power is nominal on me-sadly-and the throw is soft to average.

 

Bottom Line: Metal Phoenix is a bit like an airy gleaming white floral that flits with the cool metallic; I wish I could have enjoyed it a bit more longer on my skin but all this confirms to me is that I will need to re-apply often during the day. I like this for spring.

 

[donnatron]

Imp: Strong musk and metal with a marshmallow-y sweetness I'm assuming is the mallow.

 

Wet: Huh. It reminds me a LOT of La Fee Verte. Less absinthe-y, obviously. Really getting a marshmallow vibe from this overall. The metal is a sharp contrast to the softer, warmer quality of the scent.

 

Dry: Honeysuckle and mallow over Chinese musk and metal. Very simple but pretty. Very classical. It's a weird, morphing sort of scent that reminds me of other BPAL scents. The drydown scent is reminiscent of Morroco with honeysuckle instead of spices. And then there's a random metallic quality to the scent overall. Considering it's the Metal Phoenix scent the metal is neither particularly prominent or really integrated into the scent. It's weird.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: I don't think it's exactly rocking on my chemistry. A pretty scent but not as pretty as all the other ones it reminds me of.

[ouch!]

This one really surprises me, I was expecting to not like it at all...boy was I wrong?

 

Metal? Nah.... this is a lovely musky sweet scent with gorgeous florals. I really can't stand Verbena but in this it is tame and just enough to compliment the blend overall.

 

It's got a nice freshness to it which is fuzzed over by the musk and it's gorgeous, it's a clean smelling scent like a shower product or...lovely body lotion. Candy Phoenix was my favourite of the lot but this is a close second. I love the label too!

 

[Vega]

Sniffed: Thickly creamy-sweet.

 

On skin: Indeed, this is creamy and sweet; that must be the honeysuckle dominating the blend (as it did in Hermia), and I'm really not fond of it. I can also detect cozy fuzzy musk, and a tangy thinness that may come from the metal notes, but the creamy sweetness shoves everything else into the background. That's about all I get -- Metal Phoenix vanishes as it dries, and quickly becomes so insubstantial that I can't detect any more fragrance. Finally all that is left is a ghost of generic florals.

 

Verdict: Nondescript and not memorable, it just fades too quickly on my skin. I try a scent several times before making a review, and I can never remember how Metal Phoenix smells, so fleeting it is. What I do smell is creamy and mellow, and not for me. Straight to swaps it goes.

[Gin]

Ooh, this is fantastic! The Chinese musk in Metal Phoenix had me worried. I don't know what I expected it to smell like, but up until recently, I was pretty much afraid of all types of musk. I tend to like chromey type notes, though, so I grabbed this on eBay. Thank goodness, 'cause it's fabulous. It's citrus and chrome. I might even like this better than Torture Queen. It doesn't have TQueen's floral, instead it has lemon drops. YUM.